What's up with the handicapped parking!?!

[Jaimee]

Wow, I really learned a lot about traveling with someone with disabilities this trip! My mom has fibromyalgia and arthritis. It's been worse thatn usual the last few weeks. We were at WDW from 2/24-3/1 and had a terrible time finding parking! She has a handicaped parking pass that she only uses when she knows she'll be walking a lot (WDW). We arrived at MK about an hour after park opening and there were NO HC spaces left...we parked in the "diamond" section next to the HC section and had a very long walk. I saw 3 vans with guest in wheelchairs struggling to unload the chairs/passengers in a "normal" sized parking space...they ended up backing into the lot to unlaod, which looked very difficult. We were also unable to find parking at EPCOT, AKL, and the Poly (every HC space was filled!). You would think WDW would have more spaces, I can't imagine how it fills up during a peak time. While it was very difficult for my mom to walk back to the car after a long day, we were thankful that she CAN walk on her own. I can't imagine someone with canes or something more severe having to walk that far after a day in the parks! Has anyone else noticed this problem??

 

[phorsenuf]

You think the parks are bad...the resorts are worse. We could never find a spot at ASMO. We pretty much ended up just finding a space (non-handicap), parking it and leaving it.

Just a side note. I have fibromyalgia too and I would highly recommend her using an ECV or wheelchair in the parks. I know for me there are days I could walk it, but barely make it out of there. The thing is too if she does too much it could send her into a flare. I just get an ECV now to avoid that. It would make her trip so much easier.

 

[pumpkinboy]

Wow, I am glad we stay on site and don't rent a car then! 6 yr old DS is wheelchair-bound and we have founf WDW to be the most wheelchair friendly place we know of. We just wheel him onto the boat, monorail, bus... strap his chair down and we're off. The only problem would be very full buses where they don't have room for the chair. We keep thinking of renting a van down there some time, but always chickened out bcs it is so far form even the HC spots to the park gate, we figure any time spent waiting for a bus (that drops us at the park gate) would be exceeded by time spent parking and getting to the gate. Maybe it would be nice to have if dining at another resort or going grocery shopping, but IMO, not worth the $$ and hassle.

 

[Michigan]

The spots fill up mostly with people that have handicap passes but walk into the parks. They don't realize that if they tell the people in the parking lot that they need to park close to the tram they would have much less walking then they do from the handicap lot and there would be enough spaces for those of us with wheelchairs that have no choice but that lot.

 

[SueM in MN]

Agree with Michigan.
Most people who have not been to WDW assume handicapped parking is the best/closest option. But parking in the regular lot and riding the trams is pretty much always going to get you the closest to the turnstiles. Riding the bus at AKL and the Studio will put you closer than using the handicapped lot.

originally posted by Jaimee
I saw 3 vans with guest in wheelchairs struggling to unload the chairs/passengers in a "normal" sized parking space...they ended up backing into the lot to unlaod, which looked very difficult.

This brings up another point of handicapped parking ettiquite that those of us with lift or ramp vans are aware of, but most people without them might not know:
Handicapped parking spots come in different sizes and to be courteous, you should not park in a larger size spot than you need (if at all possible).

• There are spots that are the same size as a regular parking spot. Those are for ambulatory people who either will be walking out of the parking lot or can walk to the back of their vehicle to get into their wheelchair or ecv.
• Some are a little wider than a normal spot or have a narrow cross hatched space next to them for a loading zone. Someone who needs to transfer directly from the vehicle seat to a wheelchair or ecv can't use a regular narrow spot because they need the extra room to park the wheelchair next to the vehicle.
• Some have a large cross-hatched space next to them. Sometimes those have a sign that says "van accessible". Those are the only spots that someone with a lift or ramp van can use because they need that extra space when the lift or van is put down. I frequently see people with handicapped hangtags who have parked in the cross-hatched area. That means that even if the actual space is empty, it is useless to someone with a lift or ramp. And, to get our passenger out, we will be forced to block the traffic lane while we unload. A driver who is using a wheelchair lift/ramp would not be able to park at all and those of us with passengers might be leaving our passenger in a marginally safe situation while we re-park.

 

[Sue & Co.]

Just like to add that I have mobility difficulties and we found that explaining to the CM on parking duty and parking at the end of the line next to the tram was the best option.

Sue

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

I asked a parking attendent at AK one day about parking near a tram stop. He was insisting I park in handicapped parking. The more I tried to explain why I would rather not, the grouchier he got. I just smiled and kept on explaining and finally he snarled at me and said yes, there were places they save near the tram stop and let me have one.

I am glad to hear that it is ok to ask. He acted like I was asking for some really huge thing.

 

[OneMoreTry]

HC parking at MK is BAD. It requires a LONG walk up and down a small hill. It's MUCH easier to park near the tram and take the tram. The CM's will allow you to do so.